Mystery shopping can have a direct impact on the success of businesses across a range of industry sectors, including the hospitality industry. This particular industry is one of the largest economic contributors and on a weekly basis, the vast majority of people will spend money in this industry, whether they’re grabbing a drink from a drive-through coffee shop, buying a sandwich from a cafe or sitting down for dinner in a restaurant.
Although food and drink delivery companies have soared in popularity over the past few years, the UK high streets are still lined with coffee shops, cafes and restaurants, and many enjoy going out for their meals. If you own a restaurant, working with a mystery shopping company will be incredibly beneficial and below we have listed five of the main reasons why you should consider arranging mystery shops for your restaurant.
Improve customer service
In this day and age, customers expect excellent service as standard in restaurants. In order to ensure your customers are satisfied with the experience they’ve had whilst dining with you, your team needs to deliver the best possible customer service from start to finish. Mystery shopping will provide you with an invaluable insight into the level of service you’re currently providing and you can use a mystery shop audit to help you make sure that all customer interactions meet the high standards required.
Ensure experience continuity
Lots of businesses in the hospitality industry are franchised and if you own a chain restaurant, it is essential that your franchise lives up to the brand reputation. Whether a mystery shopping assignment consists of enquiring about restaurant private hire or having a three-course meal, for example, the feedback you receive from a mystery shopper can help you to ensure you’re delivering the experience customers have come to expect. Mystery shopping can prevent your franchise from letting the whole brand down.
Stand out from the competition
The hospitality industry is an incredibly competitive space to run a business and customers have a vast selection of restaurants to choose from when booking a table for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Remaining both relevant and competitive is crucial if you want your restaurant to succeed, and a mystery shopper can help you identify what sets you apart from the competition. As well as highlighting where you’re excelling and where you can improve, mystery shopping can provide you with useful information about the experience other restaurants are providing, enabling you to make required changes to stay competitive.
Increase customer loyalty
All restaurants rely on customers returning time and time again, and customer loyalty is key to running a successful business in the hospitality industry. Mystery shopping can help you to make sure you’re doing all you can to increase the likelihood of customers not only returning to your restaurant but also recommending you to other people. Word of mouth recommendations are incredibly beneficial in this industry and improving your reputation, credibility and trustworthiness can help to prevent you from losing customers to other local restaurants.
Expand your business
When business is booming, in order to make sure you’re able to meet demand, you may want to consider opening a new restaurant or expanding your menu. The feedback you receive from mystery shops can be used to drive strategic decisions for business growth and you can ensure that you’re making the right choices for your business at this moment in time. Your small independent restaurant can easily be transformed into a growing business with a solid foundation when you implement mystery shopping.
Speaking to a specialist about mystery shopping in the UK
Should you be interested in working with a mystery shopping agency to help you improve the customer experience at your restaurant, don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team at Proinsight. We have worked with a vast range of businesses in the hospitality sector, including coffee shops like Starbucks and Puccinos, and hotels like Best Western and Bannatynes Hotels. We provide a range of mystery shopping services, enabling us to create bespoke packages for our clients and we will work closely with you to help you reach your business goals. We can assure you that there is no one better to turn to for mystery shopping in the UK.
